Monster Hunter World attracted plenty of video game fans, from seasoned Monster Hunter veterans to franchise newcomers attempting to get into the popular Japanese series. Many different people gravitated towards one of the fourteen weapon types, which can often make fighting monsters feel like a completely different game depending on which you choose.

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The Dual Blades, for that matter, will probably feel most comfortable for video game fans who love good old hack-and-slash action games. For the players who want to make the most out of their love for the Dual Blades, these six Armor skills should be the priority when mixing and matching the right equipment pieces and Decorations to make your build.

6 Marathon Runner

Using Dual Blades Can Be Draining

A Dual Blades hunter in Demon Mode

For a weapon like Dual Blades that eats up stamina when in Demon Mode or Archdemon Mode, a skill like Marathon Runner would be easily recommended. When fully upgraded to three levels, Marathon Runner will reduce continuous stamina depletion by 50%. This means players can spend even longer in these super-powered Dual Blades modes than usual.

However, some hunters prefer alternative methods of keeping their stamina to Marathon Runner. Gaining the Food skill Felyne Black Belt before a hunt will also reduce stamina depletion, as will drinking a Dash Juice. Where Marathon Runner really comes in handy, however, is that it will also benefit hunters' movement abilities while sheathed.

5 Protective Polish

Stay Sharp Out There

A Dual Blades build with Protective Polish

Dual Blades are a weapon type that lives and dies by Sharpness, which slowly decreases every time a player hits a monster with their weapon. With Dual Blades specifically, the weapon's speed can cause Sharpness to deplete much faster than other weapons. With that in mind, Protective Polish will be an incredibly useful skill for many Dual Blades users.

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As a single-level skill, Protective Polish will prevent Sharpness from decreasing at all for 60 seconds after players sharpen their weapons. However, the additional skill Item Prolonger boosts this limit up to 90 seconds. This will especially come in handy for Dual Blades users on incredibly long hunts, as they may want to limit the amount of time spent sharpening.

4 Critical Element

Elemental Damage Can Be Critical In Hunts

Silver Rathalos flying over a hunter

Alongside Sharpness, Dual Blades are also one of many weapons that prioritize elemental damage. A skill like Critical Element will come in handy, as it increases elemental damage every time a player lands a critical hit. For a weapon that's as rapid-fire with its attacks as Dual Blades, landing these boosted critical hits may be more often than you'd think.

If that doesn't seem like enough for players, there's an upgraded version of the skill known as True Critical Element, which increases the critical hit boost from 1.35x to 1.55x. This skill can be gained by having four pieces of either the Silver Rathalos or Velkhana/Frostfang Barioth armor sets as a Bonus skill, which both come with some handy Dual Blades skills.

3 Affinity Sliding

Make The Most Of The Environment

A Dual Blades build with Affinity Sliding

Affinity Sliding is another single-level skill that will be very useful for some Dual Blades users. Monster Hunter World introduced sliding as a mechanic, allowing players to move about vertical terrain with speed. Affinity Sliding takes advantage of this movement, giving a brief 30-second boost to Affinity after sliding.

Since Dual Blades users are often locked into a position when attacking, they might prefer to have a lot of movement options when their weapon is sheathed. Affinity Sliding provides a nice bonus for players who are able to quickly move about the map before they draw and attack a monster. 30 seconds may not seem like much, but it can make a big difference.

2 Critical Eye

Affinity Has Never Looked So High

A Dual Blades build with Critical Eye

Critical Eye is among the most common and useful skills in the entire Monster Hunter franchise, let alone Monster Hunter World. Simply put, Critical Eye will increase Affinity gradually with each of its seven levels, up to 40%. Additionally, this Affinity will also stack on top of a weapon's standard Affinity, potentially guaranteeing constant critical hits.

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Not only is the skill incredibly useful for the Dual Blades, which can already increase their Attack power through Demon and Archdemon modes, but the skill is available on plenty of Armor sets, allowing Dual Blade users to mix and match their favorites. Even a mere level 3 boost of Affinity to 15% will be enough to make critical hits far more common.

1 Handicraft

An Oldie But A Goodie

A Dual Blades build with Handicraft

In pretty much every entry in the Monster Hunter franchise, Handicraft is one of the most useful skills for Blademaster weapons. The rare skill will significantly increase Sharpness levels by 10 with each skill level up to 50. This can turn a pair of Dual Blades which are otherwise dull into a reliably sharp weapon in a player's arsenal.

The downside to Handicraft is the skill's vast rarity, only appearing on the Armor sets of difficult monsters like Kushala Daora, Glavenus, and Pink Rathian. However, for a weapon type like Dual Blades which may frequently drop Sharpness, it's an essential skill to keep in mind when crafting the perfect endgame Armor set.

monster hunter world poster
Monster Hunter World

Platform(s)
PS4 , Xbox One , PC
Released
January 26, 2018
Developer(s)
Capcom
Genre(s)
Action RPG